China Inspects 198 Vessels off Taiwan's East Coast as Australia Challenges New Maritime Strategy
Updated
Updated · ABC News · Jul 3
China Inspects 198 Vessels off Taiwan's East Coast as Australia Challenges New Maritime Strategy
1 articles · Updated · ABC News · Jul 3
Summary
Chinese state media said coast guard forces inspected 198 vessels off Taiwan's east coast in June and "rectified" three ships under a new "near-shore governance" approach.
Beijing cast the operation as lawful maritime enforcement and linked it to Japan-Philippines boundary talks that it said involved Chinese waters off Taiwan.
Australia said it raised concerns directly with Chinese officials, while Taiwan told its ships to ignore any Chinese boarding demands and said three merchant vessels were harassed.
The UK, France and Germany jointly warned over navigational freedoms, and the US called the patrols deeply destabilising, underscoring widening concern that China is using civilian enforcement to press sovereignty claims.